


Steven's Reset

by Citron0



Series: SU Movie Alternate Takes [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Steven Universe: Save The Light (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, DEAD FIC, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Memory Alteration, My crack at Diamond!Steven, Steven Universe movie spoilers, Yellow is the 2nd oldest Diamond hc, angsty or maybe just unsettling, dark maybe? I can never tell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-06 05:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20501834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Citron0/pseuds/Citron0
Summary: Re-write of what the scythe did to Steven.SU movie spoilers.





	1. Reroute.

**Author's Note:**

> ((A short little thing, I felt inspired!))  
Despite Pink Diamond being gone, her base programming remains; the scythe uses that after enough slashes.

> _"**What** did **you** do? What did you **do** to **my gem**!?"_

* * *

Spinel had slashed him with the scythe multiple times, what was it going to do to him? There was no time to dread on that now, he needed to get back to the temple. He kept marching as he shook off the remainder of the illuminated pink lines tracing over his circuitry.

[GEM: PINK DIAMOND, R̙̦̠̤̜Ȅ̖͕̑̌͛P̞͗ͫ̍͟Á͙̮̘̹̄́͋ͮ̐̾͢Į͎̼̭R̢͇̱̺̞͔̀̑͐̓I͎̦͗͌̈́̑̈͌̂N̵̺̬̏ͨͮ̃̈G̣̼͉͔͌͐ͥ ͧ̎ͧ̔̚͝P̗̰͓͢H̘̳̰Y͙͉͈͓̝̪͎̌S̯̰̠͈̹͋ͬͅI͐̌͘C̟̣͙͈ͫ͊̋̊͌͛͐À̴L͔̪͕̊ ̺͈̻̲͉͋͋ͤ͗̄F̛͉̘ͭÕ̲̰̥̲̭̱͍̔Ȑ͇̱̪̗͙̓̽M̶̳̼̩ͫ̊̍͊.]

"Steven!" His hand jerked against his will pulling the door right off its hinges. The hybrid Diamond found himself unable to speak in response.

_'Dad?' _His form fell limp as the gems clattered on wood, his energy being rerouted elsewhere.

* * *

_He was back in Homeworld, standing in front of **his** <strike>mother's</strike> throne. He didn't want to be here, he'd much rather be on <strike>Earth</strike> his colony - with his friends and f̘͉̜̳̯̃̾͌͜am̵̪̄͒ͨͫ̐i͈̦̦͖͉ͦ̏ļ̙̺̱ͯ̅͛͌y͓ͪ. _

_Th̷͈̹e͏̫ ̰̯̜̰̻̞͟D̨̳͇͎̬̟̼i̢̳̹̟̜a̮͜m̝͞o̮͙̕n̤͔̲͉͜d̖̣̺s͢ ̳̮͔̰͟w̛͈̳e̞̣̯̲̟r̤ȩ̟̙̮̦͕̪ ͍̫̘̥̥hͅi͟s̜̘̠ ̸̖̖͇̗̬f҉a̪̟̪̤̻̖͈͘m̧̰͓̼̱̟il̘̟͎̦y͇͎̻͇̠̫; ̺̮͙̜͠h͟e̮͉̲ ͕̠̤̳̕b͉͕e̗̬͙̙̝ͅḽ̡͖̰͚̺̲o͎̦͓͇n̦͡g̦̣͖͚e̝̲̳d̢̺̲͖̙̺̞ͅ ̝̮̟͜a̝m̭̤͚̥͇̣o̻̻n̴̠̖̮͉̜g͇̖ ̷̝͍̩h̞͍̪͉͓i̼͖̤͉̟̰͎s̸̰ f̤̦̩͚̘͔ͅe̴̦͉̩͇͖̰l̛l̖̯͙̘͟o̻͜w̵͓͕̩ ͙̪͍̗̲̲ͅD̗͇͎i͖͢a̵̟̪ͅm̧̼͔̩̼̣̲o̘n̬͉̬̗̻̭͉d̰̪͖͍s̶͕̭͍̖̩̰.̨_

_This wasn't right. Why was he back in Homeworld? He just left. He took a step back._

_White's voice boomed in his head, "Oh, Steven, you belong here with us. Take your seat on the throne, you can work on your peace accords from here."_

_Steven, eyes closed, spun around to reply, "I know that, but my place is on Earth."_

_"You're a Diamond, this is your place." Steven blinked, White wasn't present. What was going on? Where was her voice coming from?_

_Chained cuffs flew out of the throne from behind him, latching and locking on to his wrists and ankles, "Gah! What's happening?!" This reminded him heavily off Malachite's first introduction._

_They started reeling him closer and closer to <strike>Pink Diamond's old</strike> **his** seat. He shook his head, his thoughts were betraying him, "No, **stop**! I already said I don't want to stay!"_

_"This isn't about **wanting**; every gem has their place, especially **Diamonds** like **you**." He felt his hair growing above him as he was forced to sit._

_"I-," he stammered catching a glimpse of his eyes in the reflection of the sheen of the rose gold chains._

_Radiantly magenta irises shone back at him with diamond-shaped pupils._

* * *

Steven woke with a gasp, unable to recall his dream.

Greg sighed in relief, "Oh, Schtu-ball, I'm glad you're awake. I've been worried sick about you! All the other gems but Pearl woke up and are in Little Homeworld right now, they aren't acting like themselves." The older man averted his gaze when he saw two faintly glowing eyes gleam at him in earnest.

Steven laughed to himself, "Dad," he chuckled, "I think I want another colony." He felt a strong need to make other gems, to have territories- like his fellow Diamonds- and silly for <strike>wanting these things</strike> declining to stay on Homeworld. 'But what would I eat?'

'Oh, great. He's acting weird too.' Greg thought with a grimace, 'I guess it should've been obvious with the eyes-,' his gaze shifted up to what he hoped was one heck of a bedhead, '-and the hair.'

"Dad, do you think they could deliver shipments from here or what used to be the Zoo?"

"Um, I don't know, probably. What brought this on?"

Steven spun around, "I just feel like I should make some gems of my own. All the others did it."

Greg hummed, "You mind if I look at your gem?"

"No, not all. Go ahead." He pulled his shirt up. Not looking until his father gasped, he balked at the sight of its orientation.

He dragged a hand through his hair, pausing at its unusual length, "What else is different? About me, that is?" He was almost scared to know.

"Aside from you asking about colonies and your lack of concern for the gems, your eyes aren't-," he was going to say 'normal' but opted to say: "-_brown_ anymore."

In a flash, Steven rushed to the bathroom out of breath. He had to see for himself.

* * *

He froze at the sight of his reflection, was he really a Diamond first and foremost? His hair was _wrong_: too big, too puffy. It didn't matter what his gem said, he didn't match his memory of himself. His eyes, while befitting of a Diamond, deeply contrasted with the rest of him- excluding his gem. The skin around it didn't seem pink enough, while it _did_ have _some_ pink to it, it was mostly flesh-toned. His hair was too dark, his irises would've looked better on him had they been a paler shade of magenta. The current shade resembled Pink Diamond too closely for comfort. When he closed his eyes to blink, the vibrancy of them was traded for a muted pastel look instead.

"Steven! Are you okay in there?"

Steven pushed the door open, "Can you find a photo of me?" He had to see what he looked like before, something was stopping him from remembering.

Greg was in there with his phone out faster than time itself, "Here, Son."

He scanned the image, Steven let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and willed his hair to revert. He only had enough energy for it to shrink halfway, but that was better than nothing.

"Let's check on Pearl before going after the others." Something was wrong and he wasn't going to focus on anything else, until he could figure out what.


	2. Rewire.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven, torn between two, goes to Little Homeworld to find Garnet. It feels like something is changing him from the inside. He doesn't want to change who he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I skip something, assume it follows as closely in line with canon as possible.

"What are we going to do about the drill?" The largest of the three gems points at it with her thumb. "I can lift it, but I don't think I'll be able to yank it out of the planet's crust."

Peridot swiped at her tablet multiple times before squeaking, "No! Don't do that! That'll only speed up the process!"

Lapis hummed, "What if I used my hydrokinesis to hold it so no more gets in? It's no trouble."

Peridot looked to her then tapped her tablet a few times before meeting her gaze again, "Yes, that can work. Please do that now." Lapis hummed in response.

She lifted her tablet up higher so they could see the diagrams she made, "If we pierce a hole in the glass, you could drain it's fluids and fling it into the Sun or an uninhabitable exoplanet!"

"Hey guys!" Steven says to announce his presence, Greg and Pearl followed closely behind him as almost-chaperones. Amethyst was quietly mimicking Pearl and shapeshifting into various gems and animals that she saw.

"But how are we going to cut that hole? Oh hey, Steven. We'll have to use something high-intensity like the circular saw. Steven!" Bismuth did a double-take when she noticed that Steven was just as off as the other Crystal Gems.

"Yeah?" At that point Lapis and Peridot noticed Steven's altered appearance.

"Are you feeling okay?" Bismuth placed a hand on his shoulder, trying not to look directly into his eyes. She spent most of the past five thousand years in a bubble, so her distaste for Pink is still somewhat strong.

"Uh, no. Not really. My gem doesn't work how I want it to," his frustration was building, increasing more and more as he spoke, "And it changed my appearance while I slept. Not cool!"

"What caused this change? You usually have quite the handle on your powers." Lapis didn't look away from his eyes, she remembered how Blue grieved so deeply for Pink before and after the war.

"It was this." Greg showed them the un-activated rod. Peridot looked directly down the barrel before Bismuth swiped it from her.

"Be careful with that! It's a rejuvenator." She activated it and held it aloft.

"At least that explains _them._" She gestured to reset Crystal Gems.

"Did you tell the Diamonds about this?" Lapis inquired trying to seem unperturbed but came off as slightly timid at the aspect. Two years feels like nothing to a gem, the wounds still as fresh as they had been.

A look of excitement rose on Steven's features before being squished down by a surge of panic. "No! Could you imagine what would happen?" His hands flew to his hair, "They'd come here and take me back to the palace. What's worse is that I sort of want to go with them!"

He gestured to Spinel who was bouncing whilst attached to his arm, "She hit me so many times with that thing, I think it did more than just reset my gem to when I was thirteen."

He paced, "I'm not acting like myself anymore. I'm acting how a **Diamond **would."

"You _are_ a Diamond, Steven. That's to be expected." Peridot said deadpan, he fidgeted slightly.

Tears were beginning to prickle along his eyes, "I know! I'm-I'm wanting things I've never wanted before, but these things-," he bunched the fabric directly above his gem, "-they're what _Pink Diamond_ wanted before." He grabbed his hand to stop it from shaking; his shirt was not spared from its wrath.

"How many times were you struck?"

"Four or five times." He looked down at his salmon sandals pressing his index fingers together.

"'Four or five times,'" Peridot repeated, "No _wonder_ why you look like **_that_**!"

Embarrassed, Steven blushed and shouted, "_Hey_," somewhat offended.

Fear surged through him making him shiver as the rejuvenator had, "My gem, it's trying to make me forget what I looked like before- it's trying to make me fit in my Diamond mold more. I'm _terrified_, guys. What if I try to complete what my mom started over 6000 years ago?"

"You being hit by this thing must've reversed all those changes Rose made to her form." Bismuth mused mostly to herself.

"Maybe I really **_should_** stay with them." He whispered in a hushed tone, not wanting to admit it to the others. 'At least then, I couldn't be a danger to the Earth-,' he glanced at the hourglass-shaped injector, '-any more than I already am.'

"Steven, do you really think we'd be where we are if we were as truly bound to our coding as you think? Do you think we could've rebelled before if we couldn't deny our programming?"

"No, I guess not."

"While, yes, our gems do determine a bit of who we are: our powers, our looks. It doesn't mean we can't become more than who we were. I smithed weapons in the War, Steven; I was only programmed for architecture, I was able to switch vocations because it's what **I** wanted to do, not what just pleased my code. What we're programmed to do are just suggestions, you can stray from it. Your mother did, which means _that_ gem isn't as controlling as you think."

Lapis swooped down, still holding the liquid in place, "Steven, it doesn't matter if your eyes are different or if your hair got longer, you know just as well as I do that appearances don't change who you are on the inside."

"But what if it does? What if I send us back a thousand years because my gem won't stop telling me to get a Court?"

"We'll stand by you, Steven."

"Yeah, we'll stick by you to the end, Steven. You're our friend, that gem of yours will never change that." Some newfound piece of him was appeased by that.

T̳̦̱̗͙̻̰ẖ̲e̝̯̘͇͙y͎̹ ̠̱̪͓̠͓w̹̣͕̩̼e̵̮̮̜̲̺̣r̝͇̥ͅȩ̩ ̪ͅh̯̳i̧̗̙͇̫̺͔ͅs̵̥͈͚͙̩̭ **C̵̰͙̭̫͉o̷͔͔̼͠u̧̯͇͟r̢̭͍̭t҉҉̰̪̗͚̪̻̞**?

"I don't want to change into someone I'm not! I shouldn't have to conform just because someone or something wants me to!" 'It isn't right, none of this should be happening at all! What happened to our happily ever after?!'

* * *

He balled his fist and grit his teeth, "I'm not _her_! I'm **not** _Pink Diamond_! Sure, I _have_ a pink diamond, but that doesn't mean we're the same."

He uncurled his fist and stared into the creases on his palm, "You weren't there for it, but I was so relieved that my gem had taken my form when White-, he hesitated, "-took it out, instead of my mom's, instead of Pink's."

He lifted his shirt to study the faint glow amidst the vertically rotated gem, he stroked the conical segment that he'd normally be unable to see, "Does my gem know-," his voice became taut, tears lined the rims of his eyes, "-that I'm not Pink Diamond?" He let go of his sky blue star tee; it was slightly torn from fighting Spinel.

U̢͏̤̟̹̮̝̠͉ṣ̘̬͇̣̬̺͜͞e̶҉҉̬̝͍̩͚̻͉̜r̸̪͔ P͓̙̫̤̻͜i̻̼n͎̭͍͈̱̺̦̕k̙̰͈̱̮̞̳͞ ͟D̬͕̜i̻͙͠a̢͇͇͇̤͚m̱̖̗̣̪o̮̙͞n̘d͕̫̭̳̖ ̞̝̮̫̥̗͙i̢̲̜̦͈̖̖s̗̫͍̖ n͡҉͚̘͓̭o̡̙̼̘̬̬̥͚͎̕t̵̤ ̘̘̱̦̯̩̰͟͡ͅd͇͍̗̙̲̬̤ę͙͇ț̵͙͚̯̕e҉̱̫c̬̻͎̗̜͚̠͎̕t҉̲͕͢e̴̠̠d̛̖̟̤̞͝.͕̟̯͓͍͘͡ W̶̝̮̝h͠o̩̘ͅ ̻is͍͕̦̖͎̺̬ ͔̬̺̮t̸͍͔̱̪̗͉͖h͙͇̟͉̝͟e̗͉̗̜͞ c̶͏͙̠͖̠u̸̢̥̺͎̼̙͢ŗ̪̻̳͙̹͘r̸̢̨̠͙̖̲̘͈̣̠e̛̦̟̜̜̤͇̟̺͠ṇ̸̣̣͟t̡̟̗ U̳͖̝͡s͕̲͚̟ḛ̰̻̘̣̣͘r̥̞͖̦̖͠?

[INTERFACING WITH EXTERNAL HARDWARE...]

Greg placed a hand on Steven's shoulder, "I'm sure it does, bud. It's just a little confused right now. Give it time to readjust." Steven nodded.

[INTERFACING...]

'Now's not the time for waiting,' he needed to find _his_ missing pieces before he either died or stayed how he was forever, both not good, but his gems came first. 'No, not _mine_. I **don't** own them.' He didn't care that he was a Diamond, the Crystal Gems had every right to being themselves as he did. If he thought hard enough, he hoped, he could will his gem into listening to him.


	3. Recall.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven, Bismuth and Peridot try to restore the memories of the other gems. Lapis stayed behind to keep more of the poison from seeping into the Earth. Steven still doesn't feel all that great, but ignores it for now.

> _"Homeworld used to use these on gems that started **stepping out of line**. One hit with this, and you're back to how they made you."_
> 
> _'Back to how they made you.' Steven trembled gripping the sleeves of his jacket for support, _"_I **can't believe this**," the rejuvenator quivered, deactivated, in Steven's grip._
> 
> _"What happened to my happily ever after?"  
_

* * *

[INTERFACE FAILURE. RETRYING...]

"Let's see," Peridot began as she started shuffling through the assorted construction equipment, "No, no, too small, too big," She trailed off.

"Remember, Peridot, we need something heavy duty! We don't know how hard that injector's glass is."

"Ah ha!" She held up a large buzz saw.

"A giant pizza cutter?" Steven pondered, still not quite in his right mind.

"That is _one_ of its functions, yes," Peridot humored.

"We know so little about that mega injector, we'll need to find out what it's made of to see if we should even penetrate the glass at all."

"Just give me a sample and my tablet and I should be able to identify it in no time." Peridot handed the saw to Steven.

Steven faced Ruby and Sapphire his voice dripping with dread, "Garnet would know what to do," he begun to tear up in frustration, "Garnet _always_ knows what to do." 'I want _my_ Garnet back!' He missed her so much, but there wasn't enough time to get mopey- Lapis couldn't hold that poison forever. He set down the saw, trying to think.

H͡e ̧wa̕s͜ t͘he D̵̫̝̱i͔̖͚̼͘a͉̣͖̱̯͘ͅm̫̺͓͖̜͎͔͜o̦͖̹͙̜̬͙n͇̪̬d͓͢ her̷e,͡ he nee͘dęd ҉to͏ t̡ake̴ c̛h͘arg̕e, t̟̫̖͈a̲̟̜̜̲͎̦k̩̖͉̠̩̺̣͢ͅẹ̷̰̟̫̦̲̻̣ ̝̞̟͍̻̣̮̦͟ͅa̵̵̰͓̼̘̺̲͚c̷̟̟͞t͇̩͇͈̼̣i̢̯̗̖̦̝͙̺͓o̻̥͈̗n͏̢̩͉͉̦̘̰̪!

"There has to be a way to get Garnet back." Bismuth and Peridot perked up at that, "Let's put our heads together. So-," he paced as he spoke, "-when Ruby and Sapphire first became Garnet, Ruby rushed in to save Sapphire from danger and-," He clapped his hands, "BAM! They fused." He looked at the buzz saw at his feet.

He faced Peridot, "You think this-," he picked it up, "-could make a dangerous enough situation?"

"Worth a shot." She leaned in and pressed the on button before he could think about backing out.

"Here," she spun him around to face the amnesic married couple, "Off you go now!" The bombastic green gem shoved him toward them.

Greg backed away, inching closer to the warp pad. "Steven? I think I'm be over here in case anything goes wrong." Pearl followed.

Sapphire spoke up in a near-whisper, "Wise of you."

"Good luck!" Spinel hollered.

"Halt," Ruby's gem glistened in her open palm, "I cannot allow you to approach my Sapphire with such a threatening device."

"Well," he stepped closer, "That's too bad 'cause I'm gonna _get_-," he swallowed as he tried to steel his resolve, 'I'll do whatever it takes to get <strike>my</strike> Garnet back!' He rose the blade higher in the air, "-you!"

His tone came out sounding halfhearted and somewhat comedic, hopefully, Sapphire wouldn't see through him.

"Will this work?"

"Depends, how good is Steven at acting?" Peridot murmured to Greg and Bismuth.

"Not very." Spinel giggled at Greg's admission.

"Permission to disbatch the curly-haired one, my Sapphire?" The saw buzzed as it lingered elevated in Steven's grip.

"No need, I predict he won't be able to follow through."

_H̡e ̨c̡o͢uld͟n͝'̷t do͜ ҉i͡t._

His lip quivered and he let out a breath, "She's **right**, I _can't_-," he turned it off, let it fall to his feet and walked away, "-even if we _are_ just pretending."

H̛e͠͠ ͜͝c̛o͡͠ul̨͟d̸n'̸t ̧͜h͏̨̛u̴̡͟r͏͝t̴̕͟ ̷͟t̡h̛e ̕͠m͜͝͝e͏̷͜mb҉̧e̶͜r̢͟s ǫ̨҉f͘͡ ̶h̷i͟s̷̕ ̶͜c̨o̸̡u̢r̷̷͠ţ͏. '_**Family**,' _he amended_. _

[INTERFACE LINK ESTABLISHED. SYNCING DATA...]

In the corner of his eye, he sees Spinel pick up the cutting implement, "_Wait!_ Spinel, no, no, nonono, don't touch that!" Ensuing the soft click of the button, her noodly structure, unable to handle the force, began to be jostled about. The saw shot up into the scaffolding much to Bismuth's dismay.

* * *

[USERNAME FILE CORRUPTED. LOADING FROM HARDWARE...]

After all of that chaos, Steven did a silent headcount; he realized that a certain mauve gem was missing from their roster, "Guys?" They all turned to face him. Greg was still clenching his chest, Steven felt a little winded too, if he could bring himself to admit that.

"Amethyst is missing!" 'Where did she go? Did she shapeshift into a bird when we weren't looking?' He pressed the side of his hand to his forehead scanning the perimeter for her, but with no success.

"You were supposed to be watching her!"

"She must've wandered off." Greg commented planting his palm on the back of his head.

Steven turned to Bismuth with pleading eyes, "Can you watch Garnet?"

"Yeah, sure-," she nudged her head toward the awestruck fusion, "-but it looks like she's doing a pretty good job watching herself.

"Thanks."

"Yo, Peridot? You mind carrying this back to the lighthouse?"

"Nope!" On her trash can lid, Peridot carried the saw floating nearer to the warp.

"I'll join you after I escort Garnet there." Bismuth called out to her cupping her mouth.

"Okay!" The Era 2 gem called back.

Steven didn't hesitate to volunteer, "I need to go find Amethyst." Greg placed his hands on his son's shoulders; he had to keep him from running off, 'like Amethyst,' he thought guiltily.

Greg sighed, "No, Steven-," he attempted to keep those near-crazed rhomboid pupils focused on him, "-**you **need go back and call the Diamonds. They're the only ones who can help you." They were unsettling to see, but Steven wasn't going to stop being Steven, leftover code or no.

"Oh no, do I have to?" Steven's nails lightly dug into the flesh directly below his nose.

While Greg hadn't seen the Diamonds in a quite some time, he knew they were putting some effort into appeasing his son: their grandson? Grandnephew? He could talk to the in-laws too in Steven's behest, 'Well, at least Blue anyway.' He admitted to himself. White Diamond didn't give him so much as the time of day; she did, however, enjoy Andy's company of all people.

"Unfortunately, Son," he released his boy. "Some battles we just can't fight on our own. I can't help any more than I have, and I still gotta plan Sadie's rock show.

"You'll try to come, won't you?"

"Wouldn't miss it." 'This was really eating him up, wasn't it?' Greg mulled, 'He's still too young to be taking Rose's place on Homeworld.' He still had the Diamond Line Steven gave him a year ago and the warp whistle from three years ago. If he had to, he go up there himself to check up on him.

"Amethyst will be fine on her own for now. She couldn't have wandered too far." 

'Bismuth is probably right, and the Diamonds need to know about my _situation_ anyway.' Nonetheless, he couldn't stop worrying about her.

"She's lost! I can't leave her alone without her Diamond: she could get **hurt**!" Steven's hands flew to his mouth when he registered what he said. '**_No_**, this isn't me, _is it_? It can't be, it's just the rejuventor scrambling my code or whatever.' Greg grimaced, Steven practically screamed that.

"I'm-I'm sorry, it just slipped out."

'I'm **not** Amethyst's _Diamond._' It was hard to focus on anything but the familiar pink of his sandals. His head was buzzing, colors were getting brighter, sounds were getting sharper. He clenched his eyes shut, it was just too much. '_Mom_ was, technically, but I'm **not**. I'm her **_friend_**, her little **brother**, I don't _own_ her like Mom had.'

His gem, when it had been his mother's, had its essence pumped into the kindergarten from the bowels of the extraction chambers. He has avoided going there with the other Diamonds after Yellow told him about it.

What does that mean for any Pink Court gems? Are they like _cousins_? He didn't want to think about it right then, he could barely think about anything.

Bismuth stared into his inhuman eyes for a hot second, then sighed, "It's okay, Steven, I know you're not quite yourself right now." His thumb stroked his gem, it was the same temperature as the rest of his stomach. 'It's kind of big rotated this way,' he noticed as he let his palm rest on it for a moment. A steady pulse drummed, echoing through his gem, _his_ pink diamond.

[USER IDENTIFIED. SYNCING WITH LAST SAVE...]

Spinel's arm stretch far enough for her hand to clasp Steven's, her arms sounding like a whip, "Don't forget your best friend, Spinel!"

"Oh, right. Spinel, you stay here with the others- I have to call the diamonds real quick- and I'll be right back." He released her hand, her eyes widened in shock. Something like this had happened before, she couldn't quite remember what or why, but it hurt _a lot_.

"No!" She refused to keep feeling whatever that was.

Her voice was hoarse and vicious, it made Steven flinch and gasp, "O-okay, let's go together?" The last thing he wanted was for her to attack them again.

Magenta eyes and her razor-sharp snarl vanished in an instant, "Yay!" She clapped once and chuckled.

* * *

The temple was so quiet without the other gems there. Steven hurried to his greenhouse, it wasn't the same without them. '_No_, I'll get them back to how they were, _I have to_.' Spinel followed behind, her squeaky shoes giving away her location.

"Stay out of sight, Spinel. These sort of calls are private."

"Okay~, but you'll have to find me!" She said in a sing-song voice.

"Alright." He walked over to his datapad as Spinel scurried away looking for a good place to hide.

[LAST SAVE IS FROM 08:15:16, LOADING SAVE STATE...]

Steven chose to call Blue first, she answered after only one ring, "_Steven, _how kind of you to call!"

She paused for a heartbeat at the sight of his eyes, "Are you trying out a new look; it looks lovely on you." She teared up on the other end, "Oh, Steven. You remind me so much of Pink."

"That's, that's what I called to talk to you about, actually." Sweat began to form along his brow. He activated the rejuvenator and held it so she could see it. Her eyes narrowed in anger, he deactivated it and put it back in his jacket pocket.

"I was hit a few times with this and I don't-," He shook his head in a vain attempt to calm himself down, "-Something's happening to me! My powers don't work well and I look like _this_!"

He took in a breath, "I, I think I should move in, ju-just until I can go back to normal." His eyes darted to his right.

Cupping his wrist, he confessed deflating, "I don't want them to be **afraid** of me."

Blue Diamond spoke softer, knowing if she said the wrong thing he'd change his mind, "You left your legs on Homeworld the last time you visited, do you need us to pick you up?"

"Ideally, I don't think I should be using warp pads right now. When do you think you can get here?"

"We can probably get there by tomorrow. I'll send my pearl to get your things." Before she hung up, she turned one last time to face the camera, "And, Steven? I'm glad you're finally moving in. Yellow and I were worried that you'd never accept our offer."

"It's **temporary**, _remember_?" He choked out, not wanting to sour the mood.

Her hand twirled a lock of her hair, "I'm hoping you'll want to stay once you come home. I'm sorry if we drove you away before, we're trying."

Homeworld _wasn't_ his home, '_it **could** be_,' murmured a quiet voice that sounded suspiciously like his own.

All anger had dissipated after using his shield, being replaced with exhaustion. It wasn't the time to argue.

"I know, it's good that you're making an effort at any rate."

"Goodbye, Steven, we'll see you in the morning."

"Bye." He hung up. Blue Pearl arrived soon after, he felt like there was something he was forgetting, then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

_He'd forgotten about Spinel!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greg saved the beetles off-screen by intercepting them; Pearl protects him from falling debris.  
You guys were rushing me, so you don't get to see that scene.


End file.
